Short Halloween Stories
by side-fish
Summary: These include a small compilation of Halloween stories that I've prepared for the year 2017. This will be my first M-rated fanfic. Additional information at the Foreword. Cover image update to follow.
1. Foreword

Foreword

So I've been a bit out of the loop since I started delving in cryptocurrency. It's been a hell of a rollercoaster. Literally moons and bloody waterfalls.

That said, I feel I've neglected a bit of my stories as the world of crypto requires a bit of constant attention. As a way of getting back a bit, I've decided to do some warm-up stories. And with Halloween coming up, I wouldn't want to miss out on my tradition.

I seem to notice that I almost always seem to come up with a fanfic during the Halloween season, and I thought, why not continue this. And better yet, instead of one story, I've come-up with three.

And these short stories will be quite special. I'll admit, I haven't been reading on some of the latest Zootopia fanfics out there. And they may be quite good, but I notice they always revolve around the same themes such as savagery, pred vs prey, etc. Zootopia is good that way, but I believe there are times we need to branch out. And I have to admit, these stories I've written are basically some of the kinds of stories that I would look but because it seems that not many people are interested in these kinds of fanfics, I thought I should probably start with my own.

Granted these are Halloween fanfics, be warned that these stories are kind of dark and do not have happy endings. As such, this will be my first rated M stories. They're not tragedies though, so yay, no one dies. However, these stories will contain either of the following themes: possession, personality change, mind manipulation/mind control. If you are not comfortable with the following themes, which will involve either Judy or Nick or both, you may stop reading this fanfic now and click the back button.

Danger! Do not proceed beyond the line below if you do not agree.

Danger! Ne continuez pas sur la ligne dessous si vous n'etes pas d'accord. (Practicing ma french. Please, no reviews in French though. My nose might bleed. :P)

* * *

By clicking 'Next Chapter' you acknowledge that the stories you will read do not contain a happy ending, and as such are prepared to set your expectations.


	2. Her Number One Fan

Her Number One Fan: A Halloween Story

It's that time of year again, Judy thought. She had been busy over the past couple of months being a cop and all, chasing bad guys around the city with her favorite fox partner. But months of unused vacation leave meant that Judy had no choice but to take a long break in order to use up all those leaves. It was Bogo's orders and while she would argue about what it meant for her to not be here, he was an unmoved, not even flinching to the rabbit's pleas.

"Think of it this way, Hopps." He said. "This isn't about you at all. If you don't take your leave, then I'll get in trouble for not doing my job. So, can you let me do my job?" He reasoned.

And with that, the battle was fought and lost. She was going to get… a vacation.

" _It's not so bad._ " Nick reasoned over the phone. She was already on the Bunnyburrow Express on the way home. " _Heck, I'm kinda jealous, even._ "

"Sure, like you would do anything to not have a day at work."

" _Look, I'm not the one who didn't use her vacation leaves regularly._ " Nick jabbed. She imagined him with that sly look again. " _Though, if it means anything, I'm gonna miss you having to drive me around._ "

"I see someone's already regretting me going on this long vacation."

" _Don't have to worry about me, Carrots. You've got yourself to look out for. You work too much. Just go have some R and R so that we can get this over with. Listen, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm on patrol and it looks like a particular weasel we know is about to do something bad and probably petty._ "

Judy rolls her eyes. "He never learns, does he?"

" _Nope, no he doesn't. Well, I'm off, Hopps!_ "

"Bye Nick!" The phone call finally ended.

It was when she a rumble out of the window that she forced herself to look out the window. She had been so immersed in her conversation that she had not noticed the deteriorating weather. Dark clouds were visible on the horizon ahead. She hoped that things would get better.

* * *

Unfortunately, things turned for the worst. Landing at the station, the wind picked up and she could tell that it was about to rain soon. Since the station was open-air, she could feel the intense breeze of the storm. Also unfortunate was the lack of a welcoming party to greet her. It was odd. The last time she was home, all her siblings, all 275 of them, welcomed her home. She looked at her cell phone. Surely, her parents must have seen her message.

And as if the universe was not on her side, the message that she had supposedly sent had failed to send. Worst still, the inclement weather had dropped cellphone coverage to null. Judy could not believe it. Her vacation had barely even started and it was already turning out to be the worst.

But there was no room for whining. She is already here, afterall, and she better make ground while it still has not rained. Carrying her things, which was not a lot considering she does have some stuff left at her own home, she wasted no time and started running.

It did not take long for the rain to start finally pouring in. It slowed her down as the visibility had diminished greatly. It was clear that she isn't going to make it home today. She ran towards the nearest tree, shielding herself somewhat with its leafy canopy. She could feel herself shivering. Sweet cheese crackers, no way was she getting sick!

"I need to find a place to stay soon." She said to no one in particular.

Almost after she said that though, she caught movement at the corner of her eye. It was faint, but she was sure it looked like a someone. It was standing in the rain, and with the strong torrent, she could not tell if it could see her. It did not take long before other more sinister thoughts occupied her mind. _Is it… stalking me_?

Unsure of the possible danger that lurks, she tried to get its attention. She waved her paw, acknowledging its presence.

"Hello?" She called out. "I could really use some help."

It remained still however, despite her pleas. Fortunately, there was a brief moment where the wind died down ever so slightly, and it was in that brief moment that she able to get a better look at it. But what she saw, she could not understand. The mammal or whatever it was looked a little thin on the under side where it's legs she thought was supposed to be. It was almost as if it was floa-

The thing barely let her finish her thoughts as it began to speed away from her.

"Hey!" Against her instincts, she decided to give chase. She focused her eyes, running through the muddy dirt road, hoping to not lose sight of whatever it was that was watching her. But there was a bright lightning flash. Whatever it was that she was chasing had vanished. Then, in that brief moment, she felt goosebumps as she could have sworn that there was something literally behind her. Turning her back, however, she found nothing and the feeling went away as quickly as it came. She could have sworn her mind was playing tricks on her or maybe it was just the weather. By then, she had noticed a small house out in the middle of fields. And just when she thought it could not get any worse, she realized that she had left her things sitting by the tree. With the strong rain, it was just too dangerous to get back to retrieve them.

Seeing as there is no longer a point to chasing a thing that's gone, her priorities shifted to getting some shelter. The house was the only place to go to and without second thought, she came to the front porch and began knocking at the front door. She made three knocks and waited, hoping that someone would answer on the other end. Luckily, with her sensitive ears, she heard the faint sound of footsteps coming closer to the front door, until the door opened. What greeted her was a bunny, a doe. She was slightly skinnier than her, though she was definitely younger and had brown fur. One defining feature was the light-brown spot that outlined her right eye. She had brown eyes.

"Hello, ma'am." She started with a hint of shivering in her voice. The bunny simply stared at Judy, it was like she was frozen, which was not boding well for her. "I could really use some help. I was on my way to my parents' but the rain is too strong. If I could just stay for-"

"AHH…!" The doe screamed, surprising Judy as it caused her to pull back. "Ma'am, please. I'm not going to hu-"

"You're Judy Hopps!"

And in that moment, tension turned into confusion. Judy had nearly made a run for it, but after a deep long breath and a few moments to regain her composure, she replied in a friendly yet slightly timid manner.

"Yes. That's me, Judy Hopps." She answered, making sure to add an extra smile

"I knew it!" The other doe exclaimed in excitement. "I'm your number one fan!" She added. Her excitement quickly turned to the realization that her idol being in front of her home in the bad weather.

"You're drenched, Ms. Hopps! Please, come in. You'll catch a cold."

Judy did not need to be told twice, immediately taking the offer and entering her humble abode.

* * *

She had made herself comfortable in the dining room, and she sat there while waiting for her host. She had already changed her clothes with the ones her host, Leila, had provided. Leila had been nothing but very accommodative. Judy had arrived just before supper and already she could smell what would otherwise be a great tasty carrot stew.

Passing the time, she looked around the room, and immediately, she could not help but notice the wide collection of rabbit dolls displayed, surrounding the table from the walls like an arena. She would not lie if she said she was weirded out a bit. Even her collection of rabbit dolls paled in comparison to this. There were other stuff too, such as some old family photos framed on the wall, a wall mounted oval-shaped mirror and a rabbit-sized grandfather clock. Judy had a feeling that Leila, though young, seemed to have a taste for old-fashioned.

Luckily, she did not have to wait to pass the time a moment longer. Leila had come, prepared with the meal for supper. It turns out that her hunch was correct. She had prepared a carrot stew good for two and she could tell it was going to be great.

As Leila was gave her the bowl, Judy took a spoon and began taking a sip. She had to admit, she would want nothing more than carrot stew in a rainy day like this. She thought it would be nice to begin some small talk to liven up the atmosphere, and what better way than to start with thanking your host.

"Leila, this is amazing. Thank you."

"Oh, it's nothing really. It's nice to cook for others for a change."

"I have to ask though, you said you're my number one fan. I'm curious as to how that came to be?"

Leila immediately smiled after hearing that. It was almost as if she was begging her to answer the question. "I look up to you, Ms. Hopps."

"Please, just call me Judy."

"Of course, and it was because of you that I joined the police academy."

"Oh, and how are things going with your training?"

And with that, Leila's mood turned from upbeat to moody. It was as if Judy had struck a chord, and all of a sudden, she regretted that particular comment.

Leila immediately noticed her pulling back, as she tried to regain her composure. "No. No. It's alright. It wasn't meant to be." She replied, although she looked at her side, avoiding Judy's gaze as if somehow it would hide her shame from her idol.

After supper was done, Judy and Leila continued chatting in living room. It was here that she found a bit more about her host. She had tried out in the academy about a year earlier, but it would seem that the pressure was just too much for her. She had been knocked out in the boxing ring. She was fine at first, but collapsed barely an hour after. The next thing she knew, she woke up in the infirmary with the doctor, who unfortunately deemed her not physically fit as a result of the incident, and that was it. In that brief match, her world was turned upside-down and that was it.

Judy could only give her sympathies, encouraging her to try again.

"It's alright Ms… I mean Judy. You're kind words and acknowledgement are more than enough."

"If only there's more that I can do."

"Believe me, you have no idea how much you've helped just by being here."

A few hours later, Judy thought of finally heading for bed. Leila led her to a small guest room. It was not big, but compared to her studio in the Grand Pangolin Arms, it was not so bad.

"Judy."

Judy faced Leila. "Is something the matter?"

At first, Leila was a little hesitant, her hands hidden behind her back, but eventually, she found the strength to continue. Leila revealed the item she had been keeping, a rabbit doll that somehow had her likeness.

"I just want to give you this." She replied as she handed it to her. "From a fan to you."

Judy instantly loved the doll. It kinda looked like her though not exactly, but it had the cop outfit and everything. It was just perfect.

"It's perfect. Thank you, Leila."

"If you need anything, I'll be close by." And with that, Judy was left alone in her room. She had nothing much to pass the time as her phone, while with her, was low on battery. And since she left her phone charger back outside, she decided that there was no better way to pass the time than to call it a night. And with her new found toy in her arms, she went to bed and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

It was not long before Judy felt that strange presence lurking near her. She opened her eyes on the darkened room, though she probably wished Nick were here considering a fox could see in the dark. If anything, bunnies have a rather active imagination and she could not help but remember that time when she was afraid of the monster hiding under her bed, but it turned out to be her old worn out sweater, where she mistakenly identified the sleeves for tentacles. Judy nearly snorted out a laugh. It was probably her imagination acting up all over again. And with that, she got herself comfortable and closed her eyes to sleep once more.

 _Bump_.

Judy's eyes shot open. She definitely heard that and it sounded like it was coming from behind the door. Thinking it was Leila, she slowly got out of bed to confirm her suspicion. When she opened the door, she found herself to be even more confused. As she got out of the room, she found that the sun had already risen for quite some time. It was possible it was already two hours before noon. Also the weather had already cleared. It was strange. She could have sworn that the window in the bedroom was still dark and raining, but just as she was about to look behind, the door had shut. When she opened the door to the bedroom though, she realized that she was in fact mistaken. Her window definitely showed that the sun had definitely gone up for a while now. Again, it was as if her mind was playing tricks on her. Judy then closed the door.

"I see you're up."

Judy looked to see that Leila was already dressed as if she was heading out.

"It's a lovely day today, Judy. Would you join me for a walk?"

The gray doe was inclined to take up her offer. It was indeed a lovely day for a walk and it was not long after that she was out with her fan turned friend.

As they began the trek, however, her feeling of being a bit 'off' seemed to increase. It was after she had left the guestroom. Something about it had made her feel light as if a weight on her mind had been lifted. In fact, Judy could not remember a time when she felt this detached.

They had been walking for a few minutes when Leila spoke to her once more.

"Judy, can I ask you something?"

Judy looked at her. "What is it, Leila?"

"Can I carry you in my arm?" Leila asked.

Judy found this to be an odd request. Judy was slightly taller than her. That was sure. And with her slim frame, she was definitely heavier.

At the same time, however, Leila was her best friend. And she would not want to disappoint her best friend. She nodded her head, to which the other doe responded with glee.

Soon after, Leila grabbed her by the waste and was able to lift her, bringing her body at chest level. Judy had never imagined herself being so light, let alone the fact that she had somehow shrunk. While they both continued heading to the somewhat familiar path, she took a good look at her now shrunken sized. Her arms and legs had somehow been replaced with slightly bloated arms that seem to be made with some sort of fabric. She was also wearing some kind of cop outfit. It seemed all too familiar, but she could not place a paw as to exactly where.

"It captures your likeness. It's just perfect." Leila replied.

Judy felt warm with her complement, as she hugged her gray fur, not wanting to let her go. Leila was her only friend after all.

"I think it's time to head back to the house, don't you?" Leila asked as she looked down to her friend's petit figure.

Judy looked up to Leila's purple eyes and simply nodded.

The walk home was uneventful but almost quick. And in fact, it seemed to take only a few moments before the house was in sight.

"Can I tell you a story, Judy?" Leila asked.

Though Judy did not respond, she gave out a weak nod.

"It's a story about a gray bunny, who lost herself in the rain. She found a house and met this bunny, who took her to shelter and gave her a gift." Leila replied. She looked at her companion just to see if she had her attention. When she was sure that she did, she continued. "What she did not know though, was her gift was a very special one. Do you know why?"

Judy took a moment to think, but eventually, she replied. "Because… I'm the special gift?"

The two finally reached the front porch of the house, going inside the front door.

"Exactly."

"Does that mean that you're the gray bunny in the story?" The little Judy asked.

"You can say that." She replied as she headed to the dining table and put her down on the ledge along with the other dolls. When the doll noticed that she was going way, it cried out to her.

"Please, don't leave me." The doll pleaded.

The gray bunny came back to her to comfort her. "It's okay, my dear. Know that you will always be near me, and we will always be together."

The doll simply nodded slowly. Though she could tell that the doll was still sad, the doll understood.

And with that, Leila immediately walked toward the front door of the guestroom. She opened the door with a smirk emerging on her face, for despite the living room windows displaying it were clear as day, the windows in the guestroom were dark as night. And with that, she entered the room and closed the door for the last time.

* * *

Leila could not believe she was able to pull it off. And somehow, she was able to pull it off without her victim ever noticing. Though she almost blew it during the chase in the rain, she was saved by the brief flash of lightning, which was able to conceal her from the bunny. She never knew what hit her the moment she snuck behind her and entered through her left ear. The moment that happened, she had full advantage over her, manipulating her senses to the utmost maximum. Her mind was impressive. Every bit of manipulation, her brain responded immediately, seeing massive flows of purplish electrical currents flowing everywhere. Despite the chaos of it all, all the energy seemed to focus on her thalamus, the part of the brain that controls consciousness. Leila could see all sorts of activity within this region. Leila grinned… not for long.

It was true that she admired her, as well as her story about being rejected the moment she became physically unfit. She returned to Bunnyburrow and bought a small home for her, but not long after, she perished due to hemorrhaging. And now, she was a ghost, unable to finish her dreams, stuck in her purgatory. She had heard of her idol doing all sorts of wonderful things and how she wished she could do the same. It did not take long for it to become an obsession, and pretty soon, she did not want to be just like her…

She wanted to be her.

A few months later, she had done her due diligence. And as if the stars aligned, her idol had shown up in town. She was not going to miss her opportunity.

When she was inside her head, she found how easy it was to manipulate her. As she entered what was in fact a rundown house, the spirit tricked her mind into thinking she was in a traditional home. Afterall, after her, no one bothered to tidy the place up.

Even the carrot stew. All she did was made her hallucinate a bowl of tasty carrot stew. While she praised her cooking, the gray doe was, in-fact, eating the air. And all those times she was talking to Leila, she was in fact talking to her projection. Everything was all in her head.

One thing that was real, however, was the doll. It was important to her plan. One thing she realized in her short existence as a ghost was that while you could influence the mind, you simply cannot replace someone's consciousness when it was 'occupied'. Leila stared at the purple energy flowing in her brain. She could not wait to own it with her's. The doll was the key to this. She could not wait for her to go to sleep.

When she finally went to bed, the spirit initiated her plan. By now, the spirit had a very strong influence, so much so that it was accelerating the rate at which the body would undergo its deep sleep phase. It was necessary to numb the bunny from reality, making it less likely for her to wake up. And from her mind's eye, Leila could already see the bunny's eyeballs moving rhythmically from within its eyelids. Leila could feel the purplish energy flowing through the neurons flow by an ethereal medium. It did not take long for much of this purplish energy to be sifted from every nerve in the brain. In the real world, a purplish ethereal glow began emerging from the gray doe's sleeping form, with the glowing cloud slowly expanding to reach the doll grasped from her arms.

Back inside, Leila created an image of the guestroom as her initiall dream realm and connected it with an artificial dream realm she had crafted inside the doll. And since she can break the connection of the two dream realms at will, it would be effectively like cutting the dreamer out of one's mind if one were to cross it. And that was the plan, to let Judy cross beyond it and sever her connection with her mind. And as Judy began to move away and towards the door, the spirit stayed inside waiting for the right moment. That moment came once Judy had crossed beyond the realm of her dreams. She immediately closed the door shut and severed the two dream realms apart. Judy was now in the dream realm of the doll, while Leila was inside her's. In the real world, the glowing purple ethereal link between Judy and the doll was slowly losing its purple glow as it was all headed toward the doll. Eventually, all the purple had been filtered, leaving a transparent white, its glow becoming weaker, its connection, frailer. It did not take long for the connection to sever completely. With Judy's spirit cut loose, the bunny had entered into a comatose state. The bunny possessed a brilliant mind, but without something controlling it, it's information that cannot be processed.

Her brain was now vacant. It also meant that it would become available to the next 'occupant'. Unfortunately for Judy Hopps, her mind had a passenger ready to take the wheel. And that was just what Leila did. Soon after the separation, a brownish haze emerged at the tip of the receding ethereal tentacles. Leila was stitching herself to the severed link and it did not take long before her brown ethereal energy seeped into what was Judy's brain as the neurons that lay dormant was washed with her brown energy. The brown energy flowed into every fold until the entire brain was finally conquered. It was at this moment that the switch had flipped. Leila found it amusing that it all went without a hitch as the bunny's sleeping form barely stirred, too deep in its sleep to feel anything, unaware of that its new owner. It was only a matter of time now.

The spirit could have took off then and there as she never needed to go back to check on Judy, but she wanted to see this through. She was her number one fan. Afterall, there was still some for before it all went to full effect. Unknown to Judy, the spirit had reconnected her dream realm back to the artificial realm after she had closed the door to check on it. Still, the spirit did not to take any chances and had to keep her unsuspecting victim away from what was once her dream realm long enough for the entire thing to complete, and Leila simply assured the process by walking with her away from the house, seeing the transformation take place and slowly establishing a deeper bond, slowly becoming the gray bunny that she had always idolized. Meanwhile, Judy, who had lost her connection with her mind and body, was slowly losing herself, unaware of the changes taking place. Like a leak, her memories eventually faded, losing her identity somewhere along the way.

* * *

A few hours had passed before morning arrived. The sun was up and the sky was finally free of any cloud. Judy finally woke up and opened her eyes, but something was different. She moved her arms and legs as if moving them for the first time. _They really were real_ , she thought as she began waving her hands and wiggling her toes. She carefully adjusted herself to the new sensation, though she was quickly getting used to moving around. When she was satisfied with the new sensation of her prize, she then looked at the doll on her bed and took hold of it. A smirk escaped from her lips, seeing the once black beady eyes of the doll now had a shade of pink.

"All these times I wanted to be like you. And now, I am you." The toy made no reaction whatsoever.

And with Judy's memories, she tried to recall what it was that she was doing here anyway. Her thoughts came to her ubiquitously. Another smirk escaped her. "Well, it looks like I have my belongings to collect and a vacation to enjoy."

She grabbed her phone, along with the prized doll. She passed by the oval mirror to get one more good look at herself. "My name is Judith" She said out loud to her reflection in particular. "Judith Laverne Hopps." Another thought came to her and she could not help but say it out loud. "Ready to make the world a better place." She said, saying it exactly just like she would have.

And as she left her home for the last time, Leila… or Judy for that matter thought about all her actions that led to this very moment. The idea of sleeping and waking up a whole different person, to take yours what does not belong to you, or to run away with someone else's life, it simply excited her. The old Judy Hopps had slept for one final time, never to wake up again and replaced with something that isn't quite like her, but she does have her old traits, abilities, memories and all.

"It's not like anyone's going to know the difference."

* * *

A/N: Moral of the story, always consume your paid leaves regularly.


	3. Good As New

Good As New: A Halloween Story

There was a splash of cold water hit her face, waking Judy up. All the feeling of drowsiness was instantly replaced with a feeling of shivers from the tip of her ears to the tip of her toes. The disorientation added more to her confusion, seeing nothing but blackness beyond the spotlight flashing on her.

"It looks like someone is finally awake."

Judy could've sworn that voice was familiar, before she finally remembered where she was before she passed out. Or better yet, before she was knocked out. It had been days since she had heard from her partner, Nick. He had visited the penitentiary where Bellwether was locked up and never heard from him since. She had checked his apartment and everything before Bogo told her that he had not heard from Nick since his previous assignment.

And while Bogo wanted to wait for back-up, Judy made her way there as quickly as you'd expect a bunny to. She had informed the facility's security personnel of a missing police officer, joining the search along with them. They led her into a darkened room, but something was off. She barely had enough time to react before a blow struck her head. She was knocked out before her face even hit the ground.

And there she was now, her arms and feet strapped to the chair in a dark room. She tried to get a better view now of her surroundings and noticed the outlines of the supposed security personnel wearing some type of mask to conceal their identities.

"How dare you attack a fellow police officer!" She yelled in anger.

"Because they work for me now." The familiar voice replied. It did not take long to show herself. The lamb smiled at seeing an old familiar. "Missed me?"

"You wish! Where's my partner, Bellwether."

"Oh Judy, you need to lighten up a bit. You're Nick is here. In fact, we're bringing him in this very room as we speak. In the meantime, we have some catching up to do."

"I'll say. How did you take control of this facility?"

The former politician smiled devilishly. "The same way powerful mammals control the city, only I do believe this is much grittier than running a city. I mean, it's only a matter of time before a politician has to get her hands dirty, though this particular one may have already had some experience."

The rabbit stared at her with her eyes narrowed. Bellwether could tell she really hated her guts. Now was probably the time to tease, make her lose her cool, before she brought her special gift.

"So… aren't you going to ask me?" Bellwether asked in a rather grandstanding way.

"Ask you what?" Judy replied.

"How I did it, of course?" The ewe replied as she spread her arms wide-open.

Judy remained silent, not wanting to entertain her in any sort of way.

Bellwether simply smirked. "Oh, I'll tell you anyway. Better get yourself comfortable." She replied as she went behind the chair Judy sat on, as she began massaging Judy's shoulders. Judy tried to keep her cool or heat for that matter, not letting Bellwether see anything but anger and disgust. She was unable to keep it together though, releasing what appeared to be a muffled out moan from her lips.

"You like that, don't you?" The ewe asked, continuing to massage her shoulders. "I won't lie. I suffered on my first few weeks here. I'll give you that. And for a moment, I thought that was it for me." A crack could be heard from Judy's shoulders. This time, Judy could not help but release a more audible moan.

The ewe smirked. "I sense tension here."

"Screw you." Judy snapped, not necessarily for the admittedly amazing massage, but for toying with her.

"That's all? I suppose I'm just getting started." Bellwether replied as she finally let go of her shoulders. "Now where was I?" She asked as she was going to a corner in the room. "Ah yes, of course." She continued, her voice now echoing the farther she went.

"I thought it was the end for me, but then I realized, there really is not much of a difference between a prison and a city. You have mammals here, and mammals there. A hierarchy here, and a hierarchy there. The only difference is that the mammals here are thugs, while I, oh yes, I still have connections. I have influence. I know how to game the system."

She then returned, dragging what appeared to be a chair similar to the one Judy was tied up in. She placed the seat facing against Judy, as Bellwether began to take a seat on it, her arms placed on the backrest as she supported her head with her hooves. "It started out with the little things, smuggling money to influence inmates, using them to gain information on the guards, blackmailing the guards. Rinse and repeat, you can say I've bought the entire prison." She had that smug grin again.

"Enough games, Bellwether! Where's my partner!"

A loud clank could be heard echoing from the distance. "It seems that you're just about to find out." Bellwether replied. This time, the ewe gave off an evil grin, the kind of grin that would leave you shaking.

Judy could hear what appeared to be a mammal's footfalls and what sounded like a pair of wheels. Judy eventually saw what appeared to be a familiar sheep, _Doug_ , pushing what appeared to be a wheelchair. But just as she saw the features of what seemed to be a fox, something was wrong. Why was he in a wheelchair? Odd still was the fact that he was not strapped in any sort of way. Why was he not making a run for it?

"Nick?" Judy called out.

Once his figure was visible from the lone light did Judy see the full extent of her fox. Nick was covered in what appeared to be a hospital gown, his paws not resting on the armrests, his footpaws appeared to be dragged while his wheelchair was being pushed. But what made her emotions sink were the stitches at the left side of his forehead, followed by the catatonic expression of his face.

"Nick?"

His eyes stared at her, but it looked out of focus. "Helloo…" He slurred rather expressionless.

Judy immediately looked back at Bellwether. Her despise to the ewe had multiplied in that instant.

"What did you?" Judy gripped both her paws and footpaws, clenching them as hard as she could.

"Whatever do you mean, Judy? I don't see anything different. He's the same old Nicholas Wilde."

"What did you do to him!"

"Oh, you mean that thing on his forehead. Well, this is a correctional facility, Judy." She came closer to Judy, her face mere inches from the bunny. "So I had him corrected."

"N-no." Judy's voice was now beginning to falter. Bellwether was pleased, seeing as she was now getting through her, breaking her.

She broke off from the bunny, approaching the fox on the wheelchair. "I have to admit, Mr. Wilde was… very stubborn. And that attitude mouth of his was really needed fixing." Now, the sheep was massaging the fox's shoulders. "And that's exactly what we did. Only I didn't want to stitch his mouth shut. I wanted to go deeper."

Bellwether heard Judy mutter a no, tears beginning to stream down her face. "What did you do?"

"I already told. I had corrected him… or had Doug corrected him. He's got a degree in medicine, apparently, and has a thing for the study of mammal psyche."

The other sheep simply waved at the two. "Hey."

"Though if you want to know the knit and grit of things, we had a hole drilled on his skull. It wasn't easy. He was very uncooperative, Judy, but really, he was one against the entire prison. Really, just delaying the inevitable I had a front row seat as well. I have to admit, it was fun knowing that I could change his life with that exposed and defenseless brain of his."

"It wasn't easy, but once I had access to his prefrontal cortex… well, you know…" Doug added.

"Stop." Judy tried to wriggle herself out of the rope she was tied in now. Bellwether simply continued on.

"And it gets better, Judy. You know, I did a little reading. Apparently, the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for the person's very personality." The ewe's devilish smile was growing ever wider.

"Brain matter has a density similar to tofu. Very delicate, but eh… it's very fun to play with, incisions and all." Doug replied.

"Stop." Judy answered, her voice trembling.

Bellwether left Nick's side to approach Judy. Placing her hands on the armrests, she leaned forwards with a menacing stare. "He's gone, Judy." Bellwether stated bluntly. "The Nick you know, he's never coming back." She let go of the chair, now approaching the catatonic fox once more. She looked at him briefly, observing if the fox would make any sort of reaction. "Huh…" was all the fox said and continued to say, his mind slow to react, perhaps much slower than a sloth. In an unexpected move, Bellwether approached the fox's muzzle, pressing it with hers, their lips coming into contact.

"STOP!" At this point, Judy had broken, she cried openly as the crazy ewe drew out a long passionate kiss to her fox. When she was done, she looked back at the fox, whose eyes remained unfocused and distant. In fact, drool had started to drip from his maw, a string of saliva connecting both their lips.

The ewe, who seemed to have confirmed her suspicions, looked back again to the wallowing bunny. "So, it is true. A rabbit and fox, how disgusting. Oh well, looks like late nights are going to be boring from now on, huh Judy?" She replied. "It felt good, though."

Judy did not answer back. She no longer had it in her to. She just looked down and closed her eyes. If only she could close her ears too. It was just too much for her. She hoped to the ends that he is still in there, but it would seem that she would need to prepare for the reality that her Nick, her fox, was gone.

"There there, Judy. It could be worst. You know, I was overjoyed to finally have you tied up in that chair. Oh, how nice it would be to do to you the same thing we did to poor Nicholas. But I suppose I've gotten my jollies to see your pathetic face right now."

The ewe then grabbed the base of her ears once and brought the bunny's head closer to her face once more. Angry green eyes glared at those shattered amethyst eyes. "I will spare your life, your mind, and your sanity, Ms. Hopps, but DON'T EVER mistake kindness for weakness. You will not tell a single soul as to what really happened here. If I ever hear even a whiff that you are looking for me, I won't hesitate to bring my wrath to you, your parents, and your two hundred seventy five siblings. I want to see a nod and a yes ma'am. Am I clear?"

Judy shakily nodded her head, whispering a small okay.

"What's that? I didn't hear you?"

"Y-yes ma'am." She said a bit stronger than prior.

"Louder."

"Yes ma'am."

"Louder!"

"Yes ma'am!" Judy screamed at the top of her lungs as she finally let it all out, her tears flowing as strong as ever.

Bellwether smiled, pleased that she has finally silenced the overly optimistic bunny that is Judy Hopps. "My work here is done." Bellwether revealed what appeared to be a bloody knife and put it at the floor in front of the bunny, a few inches away from her foot. "Yours… is just beginning. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a plane to catch. Remember what we talked about, Judy. Not a soul." Her voice echoed as Judy finally heard the door open and shut, leaving her alone in her sorrow as she stared at the blade before her.

It would be the last time she would ever hear from Bellwether again.

* * *

It was not long after that the police arrived. They had found a body belonging to a sheep in one of the cells. Cause of death was exsanguination.

As for Judy, they found her in tears. No longer bound to her seat, she clutched what appeared to be the bloody knife in one paw while embracing what appeared to be a fox on a wheelchair, which they later identified as Officer Nick Wilde. Judy was immediately rushed to the hospital.

It was not until a few hours later that chief Bogo arrived to her room for interrogation. He explained to her that the blood on the blade matched that of the body, who was later identified as Dawn Bellwether. Judy nodded and replied that she acted on self-defense.

As for Nick, Bogo explained to her that the fox was immediately rushed to undergo another round of brain surgery, in an attempt to save whatever is left of him. It would later be the final report of the investigation.

As he concluded his interrogation, Bogo noticed how tense she was, as if something else was on her mind.

"Hopps." The chief said, grabbing the attention of the rabbit.

"Is there something bothering you?" Bogo asked. He could not help but notice the heart rate monitor attached to the bunny increase its pace.

"You can tell me. Nobody is going to hurt you, Judy." He replied in the softest and most compassionate the gray doe has ever heard of him.

Her eyes became distant, instantly recalling the threat of the sheep.

 _I will spare your life, your mind, and your sanity, Ms. Hopps, but DON'T EVER mistake kindness for weakness. You will not tell a single soul as to what really happened here._

Snapping out of her memory, she looked at him in, displaying a manufactured confidence, forcing a smile out of herself as she tried to think positively.

"No sir."

* * *

A/N: There you go. This was a bit more difficult to write as this one is more science-based as opposed to the fictional mumbo-jumbo I just wrote. I had to do some reading. I'll admit, I read an article on lobotomy in Wikipedia. After finishing the read, I still don't have much of a clue as to what it is they cut specifically. One brutal method I read was inserting a specialized-rod through the eye socket. Didn't put that in since I think that would be too brutal. Picture that after the procedure, they remove the rod and Nick's eye socket is misaligned, making it look like his eye is popping out or making it look as if he's looking at two different things at once or both. But if there's a Brightside, the results of lobotomies historically have been, more or less, inconclusive, a hit or miss. So you never know, maybe Nick is still in there ;). But this is a one-shot so you know. And I know this isn't as long as the previous story, so the next one will be long and it will involve both of them (Evil laugh).

Additional notes: It seems that it may be a bit unclear as to what happens in the end, so I suppose I oughta clear things up. Judy did not kill Bellwether, but the knife that was used by Judy to free herself was already used prior, as there had already been blood on it. Bellwether would not be dumb enough to leave a weapon on purpose that would harm her. In fact, the reason was to frame her for her supposed 'death'. Bellwether knew that Judy would use the knife to free herself. As the police would suspect that Judy used the weapon on Bellwether, the trail of investigation would end there, leaving the real Bellwether to roam free.


	4. Potato Army

A/N: So before I begin, I want to say this story is somewhat inspired by an unfinished story that I've read last year. The story is called Judy's Wilde Game by PseudoFox and it can be found in AO3. I really liked his take on the virtual reality mind upload thing and his use of you lose in game you lose in real life trope. And I think it would've made a great fanfic had he completed it. And I don't know if he would continue it if you guys leave a review to him, but you never know :P. Either way, that story kinda left an impression and I needed a fix. This would be my fix.

* * *

Potato Army: A Halloween Story

"Attenhut!"

A cape buffalo immediately enters the bullpen, silencing the crowd of officers that comprised of precinct 1.

"Alright settle people. I have a special announcement. This meeting will take a little longer than what we usually have."

"We won't mind if you take all day, sir." Said a familiar red fox, garnering a few snickers from his fellow officers.

"Shut it, Wilde!" Bogo replied as he grabbed some files. "Anyway, I have a very special guest today, and this has to do with a new initiative from City Hall." He gave a nod to Higgins, prompting him to open the door. A badger emerged from the door. He had a fedora hat and round-framed glasses, a black coat and a bowtie.

"Gentlemen, this is Dr. Kartoffel, a scientist from city's Applied Sciences Division. He has something to tell us today. Dr. Kartoffel, you have the floor." The cape buffalo replied as he excused himself to the side. The badger approached center stage rather timidly, and waved his a paw as a gesture of hello.

"Thank you for the kind introduction, Chief Bogo. Now, some of you may be wondering why a scientist such as myself is with law enforcement, but science has always been one of the basis to solving crime." He said while he plugged a flashdrive into the police department's computer, which was plugged to a projector. "This time, science aims to improve another facet of law enforcement." He moved his… ahem… mouse as the pointer moved over to click a file on the desktop. When it launched, there was only one caption at the first slide of the presentation.

"Mammal Enhanced Training Program?" Judy murmured. "That's new."

"Now, as many of you may be wondering, the city government has approved a new training method for the police force called the Mammal Enhanced Training Program. Precinct 1, which I believe consists of the best of the best in the force, will get the privilege to first try this pilot program."

"You mean like a guinea pig?" Nick joked again.

"Wilde. How many times-"

"It's okay, chief." Dr. Kartoffel interrupted, now adjusting his glasses to get a clearer look at the fox. "To answer your question, Mr. Wilde, the short answer is yes. It would be like being a guinea pig. This program is quite new, revolutionary even. So much so, that the program will be voluntary. That said, I will be giving a list to the chief of whom I think should be recommended in the program. You may have the option to decline recommendation, but the program does come packaged with employment benefits."

Dr. Kartoffel then noticed the gray bunny raise her right paw. "Yes?" The doctor answered, pointing his paw to the bunny.

"Dr. Kartoffel, what is the program about?"

"Yes. I was just about to get there." The badger then used his clicker to proceed to the next slide. What was shown before them garnered some gasps from the police crowd. The picture on display resembled some kind of helmet mounted device. Regardless, it did not take long for murmurs to become excitement until someone finally blurted it out.

"Is that a virtual reality helmet?" Nick replied with a hint of excitement, his tail wagging like kit about to get a new toy.

"What you are seeing now is a training program that maximizes efficiency. A virtual training ground for our police officers will mean a great cost savings. In fact, if we fully implement this training, we can be saving a lot of real estate in terms of training grounds and millions of dollars in terms of equipment."

* * *

The presentation lasted about an hour and thirty minutes before the police officers started exiting the bullpen. There was a lot of thoughtful exchange between the officers. The presentation clearly made an impression.

"I don't know, Slick." Judy said as she and Nick exit the room.

"Don't know what? Carrots." The fox asked.

"I get that virtual training has its benefits, but in the end, nothing beats real physical training."

"You can say that and I can say that I wouldn't disagree with you." Nick answered. "But you got to admit, that was pretty cool."

"You're such a dumb fox." Judy answered, laughing slightly at his response. Typical red fox.

"What can I say, Carrots? I'm an 80s kid. Loved those virtual reality stuff they show on TV, not to mention those red and blue shades they call 3D glasses."

"Mr. Wilde!"

The rabbit and fox briefly halted their pace, turning behind to see a badger approach them.

"Dr. Kartoffel, what brings you here?" Judy asked.

"I'm sorry to be a bother to both of you, but Chief Bogo has told me that you and Mr. Wilde are quite the exemplary officers."

"Thank you, doctor." Judy replied.

"Which is why I'm offering both of you the privilege of being the very first to try out for the program."

The bunny and the fox looked at each other before they returned their gaze onto the doctor.

"I'm honored, Dr. Kartoffel, but virtual reality isn't my thing. I prefer a more physical approach to training."

"And what about you, Officer Wilde, would you be interested?"

The bunny looked at the fox, waiting for his reply. "Dr. Kartoffel." Nick started as he took one more glance to her partner, though with the look that he was giving her, it would appear to the rabbit that he had already made up his mind. "I would be thrilled.

* * *

The two had finally ended their shift, walking past the front desk and giving a wave to the chubby cheetah that guarded it.

"So you're staying here?" The rabbit asked.

"I'm afraid so. Training starts tonight."

"You're still up tomorrow for movie night at my place, right?"

"Are you kidding, Carrots? Missing out on an honored tradition, not a chance. I'll be there." He raised his right paw, his two middle fingers stretched out. "Scouts honor."

And with that, the two parted ways. Judy could not wait to get home, while Nick could not wait to try out the new 'toy'.

* * *

Nick sat just in the hallway outside the room where the machine was held. Nick was excited to test run whatever challenge he would face. Dr. Kartoffel was inside the room, prepping up the machine. He could not wait for the badger to go out the room to call him.

Luckily, he did not wait any longer as the doctor soon emerged from the room looking for the fox. "Mr. Wilde, the simulation is just about ready. If you may please come in." The badger said with just as much excitement as the fox. He motioned for the fox to follow him, to which he happily obliged.

As Nick entered the room, he noticed a lot of equipment inside, particularly several monitors and computers. At the center of the room was a seat along with the virtual reality helmet. The badger then motioned him to go to the seat. He followed and soon enough, he found himself seated on the chair. It was then that he noticed that the badger had uncovered straps on both the armrests and foot rests of the chair.

The badger noticed the slight concern the fox felt. "Not to worry, Mr. Wilde. This is just a precaution. You won't be doing much moving anyway as all movement will be simulated in the virtual world." The doctor explained while strapping the fox in.

"And this is 100% safe, yes?" The fox asked.

"Absolutely." The badger replied.

Seeing that the fox had calmed himself at the answer, the badger lifted the helmet and placed it over his head. "A tight fit. Now, I will be at the controls. Tell me when you're ready." The badger said as he began to walk away.

Nick could not see anything. The helmet was dark and devoid of any opening of any sort. He calmly breathed as he waited for things to get ready. Unbeknownst to him, he felt a piercing sensation behind his skull, to the point that it almost sounded like it pierced through. Nick yelped in pain, as he tried to move his arms and legs to let himself free, calling out the name of the doctor to say that something had gone wrong before being engulfed by a bright white light.

Outside, however, Nick lay perfectly silent and still as something was about to happen that would change him for good.

* * *

Judy emerged from the subway station making her way to her work place at the ZPD. Along the way, she was greeted by a number of civilians, who still recognized her from the Nighthowler bust about a year ago. Not a bad start for the day, she thought. Of course, a little acknowledgement from the civilian crowd would always boost morale.

She entered the ZPD lobby feeling really good, greeted by her favorite cheetah as she approached the main help desk.

"Oh, Judy, what a surprise. It's not like you to come late for the regular morning meetings." The chubby cheetah

"What do you mean, late, Clawhauser? I always arrive around this time." Judy explained.

"You'll see." Was all the cheetah said, puzzling the rabbit. Whatever was waiting for her in the bullpen may surprise her.

* * *

And indeed, she, herself was surprised. Nick Wilde was someone who always valued his down time, preferring to come to work with just enough time to spare before his shift starts. So it was a rare sight at all that the red fox would be up so early. The rabbit admitted that seeing Nick up so early and alone in the room kinda spooked her a bit, if it weren't for the fact that she was also amused herself.

"Woah! What's gotten in to you, Slick? It's not like you at all to be up this early." Judy replied, a hint of excitement and amusement in her voice.

"Good morning, Ms. Hopps." Nick greeted while filling out what seemed to be paper work. "You seem to be in a very good mood today. And to answer your question, I find myself more productive during the early morning hours. We foxes are nocturnal after all." The red fox replied in a formal and rather informative way, all while finishing up what he was writing.

"What!" Judy replied, giggling at her fox's reply. It was formal alright, too formal and devoid of his sly and foxy remarks. Judy could have sworn that she was talking to a new mammal. "Okay, who are you and what did you do to the real Nick Wilde." The bunny joked.

The fox simply smiled back. "The new Mammal Enhanced Training Program has done wonders."

"I'll say."

* * *

It was a while later that the rest of the officers started coming in, and the meeting was once again started. And despite the doctor's absence in the room, the chief briefly congratulates Nick for being the first to participate in the trial program. Judy expected maybe a sly remark from the fox, but when none came, it left her quite curious. Maybe there was something to this virtual reality stuff.

* * *

The day continued on. This time, Hopps and Wilde were on parking duty, much to the dismay of the both of them… or so she thought. To her chagrin, Nick had placed more parking tickets than she ever could for today.

"I thought you hated parking duty?" Hopps asked.

"Ms. Hopps, parking is an important source of revenue for the city. As parking spaces are also scarce, it is our duty to assist the city government in managing this scarce resource by making sure that each and every mammal gets only the allotted time."

Judy gave an odd look at the fox. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but are you alright, Nick? You seem to be more… motivated than usual."

"Motivation is an important driving force. I thought someone like you would understand."

The two walk toward their police vehicle, coming inside and buckling up before heading back to the precinct.

* * *

Judy was now on her cubicle, typing away the last of her papers and looking at the clock as both her and Nick's shift were coming to a close.

When the time came, Judy immediately prepared shutting off her computer at her station, looking over at Nick's station to see if he was doing the same. To her surprise, however, Nick did not seem to be settling down, still absorbed by his work. Judy was puzzled. He did not forget, did he? And with that, she approached her partner. "Hey Nick. I see you're still busy-"

"I can't make it." Was all that Nick answered.

Judy was surprised and slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

Nick then stopped as he looked toward the bunny. Judy admitted, there was something unnerving about seeing Nick's face. Instead of a friendly face, the fox showed nothing but cold indifference in his facial expressions. "I can't make it to movie night. I have another round of training."

"Nick, what happened to scouts honor?" Judy asked, feeling a bit hurt that he would choose training over movie night.

"It's not important." Nick replied simply.

"You know, I don't know what's so great about this virtual reality training for you to actually miss movie night." Judy replied, slightly annoyed now, especially at Nick for belittling their regular get together.

"I'm glad you mentioned it, Officer Hopps."

Judy looked to her side to see the badger approaching them, along with another companion.

"Dr. Kartoffel." Judy greeted as she noticed the timberwolf beside the badger. "Wolford? I don't suppose you're in for the program, are you?"

"Afraid so, Judy. Especially with that financial incentive, I could really use the extra cash." Wolford explained.

"And it will be money well spent Officer Wolford. I've been hearing some marked improvements from our first participant. How are you feeling, Officer Wilde?"

"Never better, sir." Nick answered rather plainly.

"Good." The doctor replied. "Why don't you come with us as we show Officer Wolford to the simulation room." The badger motioned to the red fox and the gray wolf.

The red fox made no reply, but simply followed the two mammals, leaving a certain bunny behind.

"Nick?"

* * *

Judy woke up the next day at her usual schedule. She slept quite early the night before considering her plans for that night were abruptly cancelled. And yet, she did not sleep quite well. Something was bothering her, most notably Nick. It was as if Nick had suddenly grown distant. And it's not that she wished Nick to be his old self, she was happy for Nick that this program was working for him, but still. All these thoughts swirled in her mind as she absentmindedly passed the subway up to the ZPD front desk, ignoring the friendly greeting from the chubby cheetah and heading straight for the bullpen. And yet, it would seem that the room beyond the door has not yet failed to surprise her yet.

True enough, Nick was once again ahead of her, doing paperwork where he was seated. This time, however, he was not alone. A few seats behind was Wolford, the usually easy to get along with wolf, however, was quiet in his own area, sitting like a well-behaved pup as if he was still in school. If Judy found it hilarious when Nick's demeanor had changed the first time around, she was definitely not laughing this time. Judy carefully approached the wolf.

"Wolford, I wasn't expecting you up this early." Judy replied to the gray wolf.

"Well Miss Hopps." The wolf stated. "The Mammal Enhanced Training Program has done wonders."

The reply alone sent chills to Judy's spine. It was almost the same exact reply Nick gave to him yesterday. Slowly, the bunny started walking away, the wolf carefully watching her as she took her seat next to the fox.

"Something bothering you, Ms. Hopps?" Nick asked, continuing on while giving a moment to eye Judy.

"Not at all. At least it's not as lonesome as it was before." Judy replied. Still she was beginning to be mildly suspicious.

* * *

The days went on to weeks. Judy would go on patrols with her partner but the playful banters between them had stopped. There was a certain tension in the air between them or so Judy thought. Every time she looked at Nick, it was like she did not feel anything from him. Nick looked apathetic, distant, unreadable. And whatever relationship they shared between them had ceased. Nick had stopped going to her movie nights, they stopped hanging out in the city. Nowadays, the only relationship they shared was professional. And while she would not say it out loud, she had to admit, it was taking the fun out of work.

One thing that seemed to be changing was the METP or the Mammal Enhanced Training Program. It was agreed by the city government that a reshuffle of the organizational structure was needed. The METP would now take priority over all other police duties with Dr. Kartoffel as the head of the program. Chief Bogo, for his years of dedicated service, was transferred and offered a similar position in a different city. Bogo always thought he needed a change in scenery. As time passed, more officers began participating at the program. So much so, that Judy had come to the bullpen at one time early in the morning, and all the day-shift officers were there. Judy was creeped out at first, but as time passed on, she got used to what she thought was now the new normal.

One day, just after work, Judy was on her way home when she bumped into a furious fennec fox. It took a moment for her to figure out that he meant to meet her.

"What gives!" Finnick asked furiously.

"Finnick, I don't know what you're talking about." Judy answered.

"Well maybe this might freshen your memory." Finnick answered as he showed several tickets in his paw: parking violations, traffic violations, repeat violations and all sorts of other violations. All were written by none other than Nicholas P. Wilde.

Judy had to admit. While some of these tickets were justified, she realized that the fox may have gone overboard. She then saw the fines added up to what appeared to be hundreds of dollars. Okay, Nick had definitely gone over the line. She would have to confront him the next day.

* * *

The next day, she would confront Nick, but it would seem that the fox was elusive. He had not showed up in his usual spot at the bullpen and was not in his cubicle. He would not be there on her patrol. Fangmeyer was her temporary partner. To Judy though, it did not seem to matter who her partner was nowadays. They all acted the same. It's like Nick was never gone.

Towards the end of her shift, Judy finally spotted the red fox leave the METP room. She was about to wave her paw to him when she noticed that Dr. Kartoffel followed him soon after. They both walk in a long corridor taking a left turn, both disappearing from view.

For weeks now, Judy had kept herself away from the room, not wanting to be a part of it, but considering what has happened in the precinct, curiosity got the better of her. As inconspicuous as she could, she made her way near the room before opening the door and entering inside.

What appeared before her are a bunch of computers at the side and the centerpiece of the program, a lone seat with a helmet mounted display, along with a camera. Judy approached the seat, examining the helmet visually. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary from the helmet. She then approached the computer finding it was unlocked. Judy was grateful that the doctor had forgotten to log off the computer just so that she could take a better look. She noticed a folder titled video logs. She opened it and browsed through its contents.

It contained the video logs of the participants. For Judy, there was only one name that she was looking for. She scrolled down until she reached the last video log with Nick's name. She clicked it to watch the video.

" _Mr. Wilde, the simulation is just about ready. If you may please come in._ " The video recording played. She immediately saw Nick emerge into camera view as he was slowly guided into the seat. When he was being strapped into the chair, she noticed a slight hint of hesitation from her fox.

" _Not to worry, Mr. Wilde. This is just a precaution. You won't be doing much moving anyway as all movement will be simulated in the virtual world._ "

" _And this is 100% safe, yes?_ "

" _Absolutely._ "

So far nothing out of the ordinary was happening in the video… until up to this point. From another camera showed the badger in his seat by the computer and what he said next piqued her curiosity.

" _Initiate transfer._ "

Her fox suddenly jolted from his seat, though it was more controlled with each passing second. The fox remained quiet, however.

" _Although not visible, a small rod has just pierced through the parietal bone of Subject 1's skull, resting just a few millimeters into one of the folds of his brain._ " He explained as the entire process continued. " _Subject 1 is experiencing mild seizures. Though once the upload process completes, it will cease._ " Dr. Kartoffel spoke to the camera. " _You can observe a spike in brain activity, but it is decreasing as expected._ " He pointed on the monitor showing a 3D map of what Judy thought was Nick's brain. Apparently, the helmet is just a scanner.

A new window emerged showing mountains of folders. " _As you can see, I have designed the extractor to arrange the files according to where the information was retrieved from the brain. The files themselves are electrical signals converted to binary. Unfortunately, no such program exists that can interpret the data_." Doctor Kartoffel looked at the fox, who now lay perfectly still. He then looked at the screen. " _Vital signs normal, brain activity near zero. Upload complete._ " Despite confirming, he still went to the seated fox, sliding up the visor and flashing a light between his eyes. Despite the stimuli, his eyes did not even react.

" _As I was saying, the files containing Subject 1's memories and personality are in an unreadable format as no such program exists… but that is beyond the point. I have with me artificially constructed personality files, of which I have painstakingly coded for several years. The language that I have constructed is based on years of research and clinical trials, of which I am confident is universally compatible to the mind of any mammal. The files have already been debugged and are ready for application._ " Before he could copy the files, he made a back-up of the files he intended to replace. " _I will overwrite the files now._ " He pasted the files, overwriting the existing files with the new information. " _Now beginning the re-upload process to the subject's brain._ " He clicked on the 'UPLOAD' button.

A pop-up window appeared next:

You have made some changes. Continue?

Yes No

He clicked yes and with that, there was no stopping the process. The files, along with the one that he planted, would be converted and uploaded back to Nick's brain with mind-altering consequences.

" _Welcome to the program, Mr. Wilde._ "

At this point, Judy stopped the video, a look of horror and disbelief in her eyes. All this time, she thought that Nick was a changed mammal, when in fact he was now a completely different person, artificially manipulated by a malicious script that was put in his head. And if each officer in the program was uploaded this same malicious script, then it would explain why everyone is almost acting in the same way. She then looked at the location of the back-ups. True enough, before her were the personality files of every single colleague that had participated. Then he saw Nick's files, the real Nick and all the officers that she considers her friends, all trapped in this virtual prison that is the computer. If only she could carry them all out to safety. Unfortunately, the files were too big and with hard drives being too bulky and too delicate, it would be hard to sneak all of them out without arousing suspicion, let alone breaking the things themselves.

An idea then occurred to her. "The video logs!" With a new sense of urgency, she grabbed a flashdrive that lay on the desk and copied the files. Once she copied them all, she closed all the windows on the screen and hid the flashdrive in her vest as she left the room.

She was already formulating a plan on her way out. No one in precinct 1 could be trusted. With the program still contained in precinct 1, she would report to the other precincts, the nearest one being precinct 5. She was already on her way out the front doors when something stopped her.

"Going somewhere, Ms. Hopps?"

She looked behind to see the figure of a red fox, his partner. A tense feeling washed over her. "Well, my shift ended not long ago and it's been a long day, so… I gotta go."

Judy looked back to the front door only to see her exit now blocked by officers Wolford, Fangmeyer and Grizzoli. Soon, other officers started converging in the lobby just behind Nick.

Nick slowly approached the gray doe, his cold stare ominously looking over her. "You're not going anywhere, Ms. Hop-"

"Hey, is this a get-together?"

All the officers looked at the cheetah, who had just finished watching Gazelle's latest music video.

"Uh… am I interrupting something?" Clawhauser asked.

Nick looked back to the bunny, or where she would have been as she had disappeared on the spot.

"Find her." Nick ordered as the officers, minus Clawhauser, began to fan out.

Meanwhile, Judy hid herself in a dark room as she felt the footfalls of her fellow officers looking for her. She was just about to peek again when, unknown to her, a secret arm with a small baton was just about to hit her. The bunny barely had a chance to react before the baton connected to her head. She was now lying on the floor, disoriented after the hit. In the darkened room, all she could see was the red and bluish blob towering before her. Somehow, she had forgotten that Nick had natural night vision.

"N-Nick…" She weakly called out his name.

And without remorse, the fox lifted his left footpaw and stomped it to her face, knocking her out.

* * *

The bunny was slowly coming to when she noticed two blurry figures before her. Once her vision had cleared however, she realized that she was at the presence of none other than Nick and the doctor. As she saw this, she tried to move, but could not as she found herself bound into the very chair that she was inspecting not long ago.

"You're finally awake, Miss Hopps." Nick greeted.

"Don't Miss Hopps me, Nick! What's going on?" Judy demanded.

"I think you already know. Security cameras saw you enter the simulation room."

"Nick, this isn't you. You know who you are." Judy pleaded as she continued struggling in her seat.

"Nick knows exactly who he is, Officer Hopps. It's just that he no longer looks at things the same way." Dr. Kartoffel then looked to the red fox, a smile escaping his lips. "Excellent work capturing Officer Hopps. I'm curious as to how you found her so quickly."

"She's my partner, doctor. My experience with her allowed me to narrow down the search area."

"As I suspected. Now if you could excuse us, I need to be alone with the bunny."

"Yes, doctor." The red fox nodded, making his way to the exit.

"Nick, it's me! Carrots!"

The fox briefly stopped and looked at the bound bunny, their eyes locking as she exerted herself from her seat. She hoped that something in him would have aroused him to his senses but as she locked eyes with those emeralds of his, she found no connection, no emotion. Nothing. The red fox ceased and immediately proceeded to the door.

"What have you done to him?" Judy demanded.

"The brain is a funny thing, don't you think? A complex machine in itself, you'd have to break it down to smaller parts for you to understand." He slowly made his way to the computer as he continued whatever work he did.

"That has been my life's work, Ms. Hopps. To understand the inner workings of ourselves. I simply applied it into practice."

"By changing what makes us who we are! That's highly unethical, doctor!"

"And yet I have the full support of city hall." The badger approached the trapped bunny. "Do you really want to know what I did to your partner, Miss Hopps? In a way, it's like planting a virus in a computer. I disguised this 'virus' as critical personality files and uploaded them into his brain, knowing the virus would hijack it and take over his mind. A shame brains don't come with anti-viruses. But unlike a virus, this will be more like a software update, by replacing a part of him with something much better. I have come to realize that as much as we want to better ourselves, it is actually our very selves that are truly holding us back. All those memories and emotions and fears and pains and ambitions now managed and prioritized to great efficiency."

"That's crazy! Turning them into some living computer defeats the very purpose of being better. What good is it being better if it means losing yourself? The ends do not justify the means."

"That's where you're wrong, Officer Hopps. What matters is that since my program, Zootopia has seen a significant decrease in crime and an increase in city revenue (parking fines). By taking away emotions and desires, it becomes easier to do the harder things. If someone you know committed a crime, would you have arrested him, especially if it was someone you know dear, or would you have hesitated? You're partner, Officer Wilde, knows a lot of shady mammals, being a conmammal himself before. And yet, he wouldn't have given those names even if he is already on the right side of the law, and an officer at that. His secrets are shrouded in layers upon layers of mistrust. But now that he's in my program, those layers suddenly disappear, and all those names, places, dates stored in that valuable head of his suddenly become available at no expense to me or the city government. Now, he sings, Miss Hopps. Music to my ears. Which reminds me." He approached the door, getting the attention of the red fox. The fox slowly walked himself back inside the room.

"Oh Nick. What has he done to you?" She said, now fully understanding the true fate of his friend.

"Why don't you tell her what we were discussing a while ago."

"Judy Hopps and I have connections to the Big family." Nick replied without hesitation. "We have more than enough information to warrant an arrest against him, but if we are to capture him and his cartel, Officer Hopps must join the program. It is imperative."

"Will you look at that, Miss Hopps. Such compliance. It's barely been a month and we're already making great progress in stopping the mafia for good. Tell me if either you or Nicholas here would have come forward with such damning information? Tell me, would he have brought you to me if he still cared for you?"

Judy remained silent. As much as she wanted to punch the badger in the face, he had a point. With the truce she made between the Bigs, she nor Nick would not have turned him in.

"So you see, Miss Hopps. The officers of the ZPD not only work for the government. They are now government property. Officer Nicholas Wilde here is now… government property, as you will soon be." He then pulled out the flashdrive that she hid under her vest. "I must admit, stealing the video logs, that's very clever. I expected nothing less from you." He looked at Nick as he prepared to give instructions. "Would you do the honors?"

Nick simply followed as he approached Judy to put the helmet in place.

"Nick, please. You need to snap out of it." Judy pleaded in a last ditched effort.

"Initiate transfer."

* * *

"Welcome to the program, Ms. Hopps." The doctor greeted her as he removed the helmet that had been attached to her.

Judy had just about come to when she noticed the badger and the fox standing before her. The doctor picked the flashlight out of his pocket and started flashing it between her eyes.

"What is your name?" The doctor asked.

"Judith Laverne Hopps." She replied.

"Place of birth."

"Bunnyburrow."

"What is your relationship with Nick Wilde?"

She looked at the red fox before returning her gaze to the doctor. "Mr. Wilde is my partner." Judy answered.

The badger shut off his flashlight. He grinned, pleased that his work was finally complete. "Officer Wilde, kindly show Officer Hopps to the debriefing room. She has something to share."

"Yes, doctor." The fox replied as he unstrapped her arms and legs free and escorted her outside.

The badger was now all alone as he comes back to the computer, opening the window that contained the back-up files, checking the recent addition. Precinct 1 was now fully indoctrinated to the METP… minus the cheetah at front desk. He seems to be the clueless type anyway. Still, there was a long way to go as there are about a dozen precincts in the city, and the fact that another facility would be established at the Zootopia Police Academy, there is still a long way to go indeed.

Dr. Kartoffel was thinking to himself. As of now, though funding is slowly trickling, it still is not fast enough. With the amount currently released, storage is going to be an issue in the coming months and he could not afford delays considering that any delay could jeopardize the objective. He thought long and hard as he looked at the names of the people in the back-up files. A sigh escaped his lips. He pressed Ctrl+A, selecting the entire directory. Then he pressed the Delete button on his keyboard.

The doctor watched as terabytes upon terabytes of personality files were being erased, watching the progress bar until it reached 100%. Whatever tiny chance the officers of precinct 1 had of turning back to normal had now officially passed.

"What a waste." Dr. Kartoffel said. "On to the next precinct."

* * *

A/N: So I guess it pays to be a fat donut-loving cheetah. Anyway, trivia time. So if there are any Germans who are reading this, they may already know. Kartoffel is potato in German, hence the title. So yeah, an army of potato heads. I've been dabbling in the German Duolingo course and this is one of the first words you learn. Much more subtle than Dr. Pomme de Terre.

And that's a wraps. The last chapter, and probably my most sinister story. Also, this is the first chapter that I've ever uploaded while in a foreign country. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this series and hopefully they lived up to the Halloween spirit. I enjoyed writing these. Maybe I oughta do another next Halloween, but I can't make any promises. I'm pretty bad at keeping promises.

Happy Halloween!


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